This is my first time posting on ScubaBoard, but I come here all the time for trip advice and trip planning, so I wanted to post a review of our recent trip to the Galapagos, focusing on the things I wish I knew before we went.
My husband and I (both advanced warm-water divers with ~150 dives under our belt) spent a week on the Galapagos Sky on Aug 17-24, 2014. We were nervous about the trip because we have never worn more than a 3 mm wetsuit and have generally done easy diving in the Caribbean and the Maldives. We are so glad we went. This was a trip of a lifetime and easily the best diving we have ever done (and may ever do).
The trip: we spent 7 nights onboard the Galapagos Sky. The highlights of the trip were the dives at Wolf (5 dives) and Darwin (6 dives), as well as the marine iguana dive at Isabella. We had 3 land excursions, but they seemed more of an after-thought, with the focus being on the diving. We saw about 12 whale sharks and hundreds (thousands?) of hammerheads at Wolf and Darwin. We also saw a couple of mola-molas, lots of Galapagos sharks, turtles, eagle rays, tons of dolphins (underwater!), penguins, red-lipped batfish (really unique), seahorses, tuna and other stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting. Topside we saw lots of boobies, a breaching mobila, tortoises (during one of the land excursions) and whales. All in 7 days!
Conditions: we were pleasantly surprised by the generally manageable currents. According to our guides, the currents were better than usual, so you never know, but the current was mild to moderate. On most dives we dropped down close to a wall, grabbed on to a rock and waited for fish to come. There was some swimming and some drifting at times, but we did not spend a lot of time fighting the current. All dives are done off the pangas, most with negative entry into about 20-30 feet of water, but it was not hard getting used to this. The water temperature ranged from 68 degrees to 79 degrees (Wolf and Darwin were much warmer than further south). We wore 7 mm wetsuits with hoods (7 mm) and gloves (5 mm) and 7 mm booties. We were nice and toasty during the Wolf/Darwin dives, but a little cold for the dive at Pinzon. We rented wet-suits on the boat and they were generally in good condition. Nitrox was complimentary on the boat and definitely worth doing.
The boat: we highly recommend the Galapagos Sky. The boat was well-maintained and the staff highly professional. Our guides were Nick and Natasha, and they were both awesome – well informed, safety-conscious, but not overbearing. The food was great with lots of variety and international choices. Breakfast and lunch were buffet, and dinner was a 3-course meal with complimentary wine/beer. There were no engine troubles, the rooms were very clean, with turn-down service in the afternoon. The staff had hot towels and hot chocolate for us after the dives. There weren’t any engine troubles with the boat. One day there wasn’t any hot water to shower with, but it was quickly fixed.
The Galapagos is an amazing place and definitely worth visiting/splurging on. Of note, we saw some illegal fishing and shark-finning going on at Darwin/Wolf. Our guides tried hard to notify the authorities, but there was little response. Not sure what else can be done, but just trying to raise awareness.
Here is a link to our video from the trip:
Galapagos Underwater on Vimeo
Enjoy!
My husband and I (both advanced warm-water divers with ~150 dives under our belt) spent a week on the Galapagos Sky on Aug 17-24, 2014. We were nervous about the trip because we have never worn more than a 3 mm wetsuit and have generally done easy diving in the Caribbean and the Maldives. We are so glad we went. This was a trip of a lifetime and easily the best diving we have ever done (and may ever do).
The trip: we spent 7 nights onboard the Galapagos Sky. The highlights of the trip were the dives at Wolf (5 dives) and Darwin (6 dives), as well as the marine iguana dive at Isabella. We had 3 land excursions, but they seemed more of an after-thought, with the focus being on the diving. We saw about 12 whale sharks and hundreds (thousands?) of hammerheads at Wolf and Darwin. We also saw a couple of mola-molas, lots of Galapagos sharks, turtles, eagle rays, tons of dolphins (underwater!), penguins, red-lipped batfish (really unique), seahorses, tuna and other stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting. Topside we saw lots of boobies, a breaching mobila, tortoises (during one of the land excursions) and whales. All in 7 days!
Conditions: we were pleasantly surprised by the generally manageable currents. According to our guides, the currents were better than usual, so you never know, but the current was mild to moderate. On most dives we dropped down close to a wall, grabbed on to a rock and waited for fish to come. There was some swimming and some drifting at times, but we did not spend a lot of time fighting the current. All dives are done off the pangas, most with negative entry into about 20-30 feet of water, but it was not hard getting used to this. The water temperature ranged from 68 degrees to 79 degrees (Wolf and Darwin were much warmer than further south). We wore 7 mm wetsuits with hoods (7 mm) and gloves (5 mm) and 7 mm booties. We were nice and toasty during the Wolf/Darwin dives, but a little cold for the dive at Pinzon. We rented wet-suits on the boat and they were generally in good condition. Nitrox was complimentary on the boat and definitely worth doing.
The boat: we highly recommend the Galapagos Sky. The boat was well-maintained and the staff highly professional. Our guides were Nick and Natasha, and they were both awesome – well informed, safety-conscious, but not overbearing. The food was great with lots of variety and international choices. Breakfast and lunch were buffet, and dinner was a 3-course meal with complimentary wine/beer. There were no engine troubles, the rooms were very clean, with turn-down service in the afternoon. The staff had hot towels and hot chocolate for us after the dives. There weren’t any engine troubles with the boat. One day there wasn’t any hot water to shower with, but it was quickly fixed.
The Galapagos is an amazing place and definitely worth visiting/splurging on. Of note, we saw some illegal fishing and shark-finning going on at Darwin/Wolf. Our guides tried hard to notify the authorities, but there was little response. Not sure what else can be done, but just trying to raise awareness.
Here is a link to our video from the trip:
Galapagos Underwater on Vimeo
Enjoy!
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